Country gardener nurturing people, plants – and wildlife

In a Vase on Monday – flowers for a christening.

Pink roses for a baby girl. Just the right flower. That’s what I decided when a friend asked me to make a door wreath for her granddaughter’s christening.

Setting out with a wicker basket, I spend a happy hour searching the hedgerows around the garden. I’m looking for ivy leaves, and their lime green and black flower heads and seeds. The perfect background for any circle of flowers. I find jewel-like Euonymus europaeus, or spindle tree, growing wild amongst the ivy, dogwood and hawthorn. Their bright pink fruit split apart to reveal orange seeds inside. Leaves turn a burnished bronze and then red. I add them to the basket. It’s like finding treasure.

I find some silver coins. Well, they look like coins. Honesty seed heads have turned a glorious silvery grey. Perfect for tucking in amongst the flowers. I love the way they catch the light. No need for fairy lights here.

I search around for some sprigs of a newly- planted viburnum. This winter-flowering gem is called Viburnum tinus Lisarose. Clusters of small pink and white flowers look lovely at all stages from bud to fully open. It flowers from November to April, just when we most need some cheer.

It’s my lucky day. I’ve found some late-flowering roses. My favourites, The Fairy and Pearl Anniversary. They have small clusters of pearly pink semi-double flowers. Both are compact, easy to grow varieties. Mine are thriving in containers and are moved into the greenhouse to provide flowers right up until Christmas. Pearl Anniversary is a compact, patio rose, and The Fairy is a small shrub rose. Both are repeat flowering and disease resistant.

Roses make the perfect focal point at the top of the wreath. Not many are needed to make a display.

Rosehips. So glossy they look as if they’ve been dipped in varnish. They cascade from the top of the hedgerows. The birds will have a feast. I harvest some for today, and some for Christmas, not taking them all. It’s best to share. I weave them in and out of the ivy. It’s a happy combination of hedgerow and garden. Just perfect for a baby girl’s special day.

Each week I join Cathy for her IAVOM Meme. Luckily flowers don’t have to be in a vase to be included. Why not go over and see what Cathy and all the others are growing and harvesting for their flower arrangements this week. Let me know if you have ever made flowers for a special occasion like I have. It’s lucky when the garden and hedgerow provides such bounty, even in November.

Hi Christina. It’s taken down each day and water tipped over it. But in another one, all I’ve done is spray with a hand sprayer. It’s cold and wet here so cut foliage lasts for weeks. Have a lovely weekend x

Karen your flower wreath for the door is worthy of the fairies, a little fairy who will be baptized. When I have seen it, my heart has been so happy for such beauty together: I love it very much. It is a crown of majestic Roses and fruits and seeds of the garden: wonderful. Ivy leaves with their seed heads are beautiful. Euonymus europaeus with bronze and red leaves with its bright pink fruits and orange seeds is spectacular. The seed heads of honesty are lovely silver coins. The flowers of the pink and white Viburnum seem to be made by fairies. The two kinds of Roses with their two different rose colors are divine. Rosehip is wonderful. Dogwood and hawthorn give their drop of gorgeous sand. Karen you are a teacher making crowns for very special doors like this one: so beautiful, divine, wonderful, a treasure of beauty. I love it so much. Karen, thank you so much for brightening up the day and making me smile. A lot of love and health for your family. To your Mother, memories, health and love on my part. Rest Karen to replenish you. Love and health Take care. Very loving greetings from Margarita.

Dear Margarita, your summaries are more beautiful than my blogs! I love to hear what you say about them. It’s like reading poetry. I am so glad my posts have made you smile today. That is always my objective. Take care dear friend. Best wishes and loving greetings to you and your family. Love from karen xx

Karen How will my summaries be better than your blogs? That’s impossible. Your blogs are wonderful. You write in a way that radiates love and joy and enthusiasm: to see life sow from the side of nature and the most beautiful flowers as something that makes life easier and the cure of all the ills of today’s world. Karen you make me write with an open heart and full of joy, maybe that’s why it seems poetry. You are the protagonist my good friend. Love and health Greetings from Margarita.

Well, I really enjoy reading your summaries. They too radiate love and joy. The two things I strongly believe in. And I’m glad you can see it so clearly, and that it makes a difference to your happiness. An open heart full of joy is such a good thing, and something to celebrate, I believe. xx

Such a gorgeous wreath…I reckon you could weave a fairy story to tell her later, how ivy and rose two fairies went seeking pretty things from the hedgerows and garden to put a welcome sign on the door for family and friends…

Your wreath is full of lovely things Karen – I always enjoy seeing ivy flowers and the honest heads look wonderful in there with them and your other floral finds. I am intrigued by the idea of keeping the little roses flowering until Christmas – what size pots are they in? I am wondering if that is something I might try to squeeze even more roses into the garden (you won’t believe how many more I have added since you came last year…!)…

I can highly recommend these two for containers, Cathy. I think if I didn’t have the cold poly tunnel, or greenhouse, I would just put the pots up against the house wall, and they would still flower well into November. Putting them under cover just protects the last of the flowers so they are not spoiled by the rain. I’ve found that they dry really well too, a bit like hydrangea heads. I’m taking some hardwood cuttings just now to increase my stock of them.

Thank you Alison. I used a recycled floral foam base. I shall be adding moss to it and using it for Christmas next. Won’t be going into landfill. I’m trying not to buy anything that’s just going to be just throw -away. Everything has to have a second life. Thanks for reading. I was very lucky it’s been a mild dry autumn and plants have just kept on flowering here. It’s turned cold and wet now, so it’s over to dried hydrangea heads and saved crabapples and berries.

That’s why I was asking. I’m not using any floral foam here and there is a real move away from it in some areas of the floral world but, of course, many people will continue to use it. I’ve made ring bases with various kinds of twigs to tie the greenery onto. People also use sand and moss in containers but I have yet to try that.

I’m currently experimenting with test tubes wound into the willow and moss wreaths. It’s a bit more of a fiddle, but, like you say, we can’t keep using something that’s damaging the environment, now we know about it. Just to make pretty things. It’s not on. I’ll report back. I was very taken by the Chelsea flower show display put on by Flowers from the Farm this year. Not a bit of foam was used. Just a million tiny glass test tubes all hidden by moss. It was my favourite display.

Lucky you to actually see the display at Chelsea, I’ve only seen pictures but I did send some Lilac. Unfortunately everything is harder when you try to do the right thing, takes longer and is often more expensive but my conscience drives me on. I think if you moss the wreath and then water it often flowers and foliage will last. Lots of people are doing that. Look forward to seeing yours.

Thanks Alison. I’ll post some photos soon of the Chelsea garden as I took about 100 photos over the weekend as I watched them building it. So interesting. Yes, I bet the moss will work. I’m in complete agreement with you. My conscience drives me every day to try to find better ways to live. I’m currently completely banning palm oil. I’m very annoyed to discover it’s in toothpaste and soaps and cleaning products. I brought some chocolates today ( not cheap) as a present, and there in tiny letters- palm fat! Won’t buy any more. It’s taking me ages to shop!!!

Ivy foliage and fruit seems to be popular for this sort of composition. Ivies are such weeds here that I do not consider using it for anything more than ground cover. At my home in town, the old fashioned Algerian ivy made a nice ground cover. I pruned it out of the trees, but did nothing more with it. I suppose I could have replaced it with something more horticulturally correct, but I rather liked it there.

This is a magnificent wreath, Karen! The materials your selected were perfect and you did a masterful job putting the whole thing together. I’m sure both mother and grandmother were thrilled with the result, and I hope they took photos to show the baby when she’s old enough to appreciate it.

Thank you Lisa. I had fun gathering all the materials, even if my hair did get caught up in the rosehips. The wild dog roses have had a bumper crop this year. Plenty for me – and the blackbirds. Thanks for reading.